


Have a Short Rest

by MudkipBrony



Series: Persona Western AU [2]
Category: Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Bandits & Outlaws, Bounty Hunters, Cigarettes, Established Relationship, F/F, Horses, My First Fanfic, Not Beta Read, Western
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:14:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27113830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MudkipBrony/pseuds/MudkipBrony
Summary: After a long morning of chasing bounties, Makoto and Ann head into the city for a short rest.
Relationships: Kitagawa Yusuke & Sakura Futaba, Niijima Makoto/Takamaki Ann
Series: Persona Western AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1981138
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Have a Short Rest

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written a fanfic in about 2 years, a tragedy I know. So to get myself back into writing I thought this would be a good place to start. I'm using my phone to write this so there may be some mistakes but I'll try to make sure that doesn't happen. I have no idea what to make of this AU yet but it's been in my head for over 6 months. Whether I want to make a full-blown story with a plot or keep it as a bunch of small stories is up to my writing abilities.
> 
> Most of the western parts of this fic are inspired by Red Dead Redemption 2 but not to a T, for instance, I won't use any names of characters or places in this fic but just know that's where I'm pulling my inspiration.
> 
> I haven't been in the Persona fandom for that long so please let me know if I mess up or get something right, constructive criticism is always appreciated!

To Makoto it felt good to be in the city again. The sounds of hooves on pavement and trains slowly pulling into the station soothed her. It has been about seven months since she last stepped foot on city grounds. Or hoof for Johanna. Partly because a certain someone started a fight in a tavern, but mostly due to bounty hunter related business.

For over 12 hours she was chasing this one bounty. He wasn't worth all that much but Makoto was dead set on catching him. She already chased him over the state line and she was more than willing to drag him back over right into jail. She still couldn't believe he evaded her. 

"We're not heading to Escapade are we?" Ann asked.

Makoto snapped out of her thoughts at the mention of Escapade. While she'd never been, one Chie Satonaka got into a fight with a patron which sparked a full-blown brawl. "I know a better place."

Choosing to take the long way Makoto lead Ann towards the docs. Yes, it would have been faster to just cut through the city but there was a risk of running into her sister. Even if Sae was at work Makoto didn't want to take that chance. It was one thing stealing their father's revolvers from under Sae's nose but another to run away and joining a gang of outlaws. Even if she preferred chasing bounties she still had to participate in the occasional robbery or carriage stealings once in a while.

But if she didn't would the gang keep her around? She always gave her share to that damn box but it never felt like enough. With almost 50 mouths to feed and lives to keep safe was she doing all that much?

"-ide of the city before."

Makoto looked to her left. Had Ann been riding next to her and she didn't even notice? "I'm sorry I didn't hear what you said."

"I said I've never been to this side of the city before," Ann repeated.

Taking a quick look around Makoto saw nothing interesting to point out. "Makes sense, we don't normally rob ships or chase bounties onto boats."

How long has she been dating Ann? About 6 months, that was a dumb question. And they've been chasing bounties for about the same amount of time. She still remembers when Ann asked her to go on a date. They were in a small mountain town and just brought in a bounty who thought it was a good idea hiding further up the mountains. So Makoto put the guy in a cell (he was cursing at her of course), Ann picked up their payment and they left the sheriff to deal with the bastard. Then Ann asks if they should go eat at the saloons as a sort of victory meal. Makoto made a joke along the lines of 'Like a date?' And it somehow escalated into them becoming girlfriends.

However, their conversation about robbing boats was short-lived. "We're close, let's find a place to hitch the horses."

Horses, the most important tool anyone in the west could have. It took Makoto 3 months to find a wild herd, 3 weeks following said herd, and 3 days breaking one of them in. When she saw Johanna for the first time in the grassy plains she knew that she was the steed for her. Makoto didn't know a lot about horses, before joining the gang the extent of her equine knowledge was that Shires were big, Nakotas were small, and Morgans were cheap. So when she saw Johanna all she saw was a light grey mare. She would later find out that Johanna was a mustang and that mustangs were the most respected horses around.

Makoto smiled at the memory of finally taming Johanna, though her body ached a little at the memory. Johanna did buck her off 6 times before finally breaking in. When the two bounty huntresses found a hitching post they got off their horses and hitched them, Makoto made sure to double-check that she did it right. She didn't want anyone trying to steal her horse... again. Giving Johanna a quick and gentle pat on the neck Makoto looked up at the sign above the door. Crossroads.

She'd been here once, briefly, she didn't want to think about it too hard. Leaving Johanna's side she entered the building with Ann close behind. She didn't remember the place being so bright, well it was midday, and the last time she was here it was darker out. She saw the owner behind the bar, a woman passed out on a stool towards the end of the bar, a man looking down at something on the counter, and a young woman with bright orange hair sitting next to him. Bright orange hair...

But Ann recognized the girl before Makoto had. "Futaba?"

When the girl turned to look at them Ann had already taken the stool next to her. So Makoto took a seat next to the man who, by process of elimination, could only be Yusuke. The man (who was, in fact, Yusuke) gave Makoto a quick nod before going back to what could only be a drawing.

Then she smelled it. Futaba must have known she smelled it because she tried to reach over Yusuke's sketchbook to grab an ashtray.

Makoto sighed and handed it to her. But not without saying, "You can smoke, but just one cigarette. Understood?"

The younger girl let out a sigh of relief and let some of the ashes from her cigarette fall into the tray before taking another drag. Makoto had an idea where she got the habit from, but she didn't want to press Futaba about it. She could only hope that she accidentally picked up the habit from some of the older gang members.

The owner, Lala if she remembered correctly, glanced at Makoto before turning to Ann. "Are you her friend?"

"Yeah?" The tone in her voice made it sound like she didn't know if that was a bad thing or not.

"You get one drink then you have to leave. I'm not too comfortable with serving kids," She explained, "and I'm limiting your options to either a shot of whiskey or a beer."

Makoto couldn't make out Anns mumbles, all she heard was, "Whiskey please."

As if he broke a vow of silence Yusuke finally spoke up. "I didn't take you for a whiskey person."

"I'm not, but this one guy is pissing me off!" Ann said a little too loudly. The lady at the end of the bar stirred but didn't wake up.

"Don't wake her up," Lala warned. She placed a shot glass on the counter and only filled it about halfway before giving it to Ann. "100 yen."

"100 yen? Anywhere else would've sold it for 50!" Ann exclaimed, but she pulled some coins out of her pocket and paid anyway.

"This isn't anywhere else kid, this whiskey is from Scotland. The good stuff." Lala took the money and went over to see it the woman at the end of the bar was still asleep.

The four of them sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds coming from Yusuke's pencil, the occasional snore from that woman, or the clopping of hooves from outside. But Futaba broke the silence. "I haven't seen you guys in a while. What have you been doing? Chasing hedgehogs?"

Ann finally downed her drink after letting it sit there for several minutes. "I would have preferred it be a hedgehog. That way we could just kill it and call it a day."

"That bad huh?"

Makoto jumped in, "He can't be that far Ann. We saw his horse abandoned in the swamp. He can't evade us for much longer."

"I guess you're right... it's just so frustrating sometimes..."

"Ann, we'll find him. Don't worry."

"It is complete!"

The sudden shout made almost everybody jump. Yusuke, now finished with his drawing looked rather pleased with his work, ignoring the shush from the bartender and the woman's snore. He slid the sketchbook over to Futaba before Makoto could get a good look at what he was drawing.

"Damn Inari, this is like an exact copy!"

"I made it as you asked me too."

"I said 'Woah this is cool, I should mark it on the map so we can come back later.' "

Yusuke had an almost disappointed look on his face. "Do you not like it?"

The petite girl put out her cigarette in the ashtray. "No. I just- nevermind. Weirdo Inari."

This is when Makoto jumped in. "What are you two talking about?"

The sketchbook got put in front of her and she saw a very detailed drawing of a rundown church. She hadn't realized Ann got up until her voice was basically in her ear. "It's a church?"

"A tiny church!" Futaba corrected. "We saw it out in the swamp north of the city. It's so cool!"

"Interesting..." Makoto mused aloud.

"Yeah right? It's on a little hill in the swamp so it's not all mushy and gross," Futaba explained some more, "I can mark it on your map so you can go look at it. But if you find anything let me have it! Like a tiny Bible or something!"

Makoto gave Futaba her map, well Futaba would've taken it out of her satchel anyway. She will admit it was amusing watching her snatch Yusuke's pencil to mark the spot they found the church. It was a quick doodle of a church but the look on Yusuke's face read as if the pencil deserved better.

"Do you think he might be hiding out in that tiny church?" Ann asked looking at the map.

"Maybe. We'll have to be extra careful, swamps and horses don't mix well." Makoto warned.

Futaba suddenly got up and Yusuke packed up his sketchbook. "We must be off." He said.

"Yeah if we don't go now we'll never hear the end of it. How about you guys? Will you be at camp tonight? I hear someone caught a bison!" Futaba said.

"If we catch this guy then probably," Ann told them.

The strange duo said their goodbyes and left the bar with Makoto and Ann leaving a minute after. The two saddled up and Makoto checked the map again for Futaba's marker. "This isn't very far at all."

"Come on! The sooner we catch this guy the sooner we can sleep in a tent again!" Ann said already trotting off.

Makoto couldn't help but smile, this was the life for her. She wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
